Privacy

Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand respects your privacy by treating all your personal and sensitive information in accordance with the legislation. We are subject to the Privacy Act 1998 (Cth), which contains the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and other applicable state and territory laws.

PolicyGood Shepherd Australia New Zealand respects your privacy by treating all your personal and sensitive information in accordance with the legislation. We are subject to the Privacy Act 1998 (Cth), which contains the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and other applicable state and territory laws.

What type of personal information do we collect?The type of information that we collect and hold will depend on the nature of your involvement with us. Depending on the reason for collecting the personal information, the personal information we collect may include (but is not limited to) name, age, residential address, suburb, postcode, date of birth, phone number, email address, bank account details, credit card details, next of kin details, religious affiliation, and images. We may also collect sensitive information from a person including a working with children check or a police check.

If you choose not to provide information as requested, it may not be practicable for us to service your needs. For example, it will not be possible for us to provide you with financial assistance if you want to remain anonymous or use a pseudonym. We sometimes receive unsolicited personal information. In circumstances where we receive unsolicited personal information we will usually destroy or de-identify the information as soon as practicable if it is lawful and reasonable to do so unless the unsolicited personal information is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, our functions or activities.

How do we collect personal information?Personal information is collected via our site teams when a person walks into a site with an enquiry, online via our website, via email and phone, and through referrals from other organisations. Good Shepherd is classified as an Information Sharing Entity and a Risk Assessment Entity under the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme (the Scheme).

Information may be collected, held, used or disclosed in accordance with our obligations under the Scheme. We will endeavour, wherever practicable, to collect personal information directly from you. Information is collected in a number of ways including from when you fill in a form, make an enquiry online, attend a face-to-face meeting, provide email correspondence, engage with us on social media, phone us or make a payment.

We may collect personal information from individuals such as visitors, contractors and suppliers. We will generally obtain consent from the owner of personal information to collect their personal information. Consent will usually be provided in writing; however, sometimes it may be provided orally or may be implied through a person’s conduct. We will endeavour to only ask for your personal information if it is reasonably necessary for the activities that you are seeking to be involved in. In relation to the collection and disclosure of sensitive information, we are bound by the APPs, which provide for the circumstances in which disclosure is permitted or required by law.

How will we use your personal information?We may collect, hold, use or disclose your personal information for the following general purposes:

To identify you

For the purpose for which the personal information was originally collected

For a purpose for which you have consented

For information for direct marketing, and you will be given an opt-out in such communications

For any other purpose authorised or required by an Australian law

For any other purpose authorised or required by a court or tribunal

Our primary purpose of collecting personal information is to provide community-based programs, services and research that supports our clients to build their safety and resilience, increase their access to education opportunities and improve their financial security. In relation to the personal information of prospective staff members and contractors, we collect the personal information for purposes including to:

Enable us to carry out our recruitment functions

Correspond with you, provide training and professional development

Fulfil the terms of any contractual relationship

Ensure that you can perform your duties

If you have any concerns about your personal information being used by us in any of these ways, please notify us.

Direct marketingFrom time to time, and in support of our future development and growth, we will send direct marketing material if you have consented to receive such information. If you do not want to receive any such information, you can contact Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand by email on news@goodshep.org.au

Once we receive a request to “opt out” from receiving marketing information, we will cease sending such information within a reasonable period of time.

How do we store personal information?We take all reasonable steps to protect personal information under our control from misuse, interference and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We protect personal information in a number of ways, including securely storing paper records, using professional software systems and password restricted access. We also have policies in place in relation to archiving, destruction and storage of personal information.

How you can update your personal information?We are committed to holding accurate and up-to-date personal information. If you would like us to update the personal information that we hold about you, you can contact our Head Office at info@goodshep.org.au

We may refuse access to personal information in a number of circumstances.

These might include where:

Giving access to the information would pose a serious threat to the life, health or safety of a person

Giving access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of a person

The information relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings and would not be available under the discovery process

Denying access is required or authorised by an Australian law or court order

We will seek to handle all requests for access to personal information as quickly as possible.

ComplaintsIf you have any questions relating to this policy, or you would like to lodge a complaint, you can contact us by:

We will investigate any complaint and will notify the complainant of any decision in relation to the complaint as soon as practicable. If you are not satisfied with the response you can refer the complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.